Concrete building construction



Feb. 23, 1937. A. ARNN 2,071,378

CONCRETE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 1, 1954 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,INVENTOR.

ATTOR Y.

Feb. 23, 1937.

CONCRETER BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 1, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I J l lllllll' EFT -H I m l 5' INVENTOR.

Albert Llr'nn 3 BY F 11. I 9

. 'ATTOR Y.

A. ARNN 2,071,378

Patented Feb. 23, 1937 UNITE-D1" STATES 7 2,071,378 CONCRETE BniLniNG cons'ritiic'rion Albert Arnn, written} it. J; Application November 1, 1934; 'Seriallt'o. 750,965 6 Claims. (01. 7266) This invention relates generally to an improved concrete building construction, and more particularly it relates to an arch, floor or root construction for concrete structures in which the .5 arch, floor or roofiszpartially composed of precast concrete slabs or beams, and partially of job-poured concrete.

At present in the formation of concrete floors, arches and the like for steel-framed and other types of buildings, it is the practice to erect wooden forms for the concrete throughout the entire floor, arch or roof area of the building, and, after the forms are erected, topour the concrete into them and allow it to solidify or set. When it has set sufliciently the formsare then torn down and removed, leaving the completed'concrete arch or floor. The erection and removal of the wooden forms constitutes an important item of cost in the erection of concrete 2o floors and arches, because of the cost of the lumber involved and the cost of labor in first erecting and later-removing the forms.

One object of this invention is to eliminate in great measure the necessity for using wooden forms to support and shape freshly-poured concrete in arch, floor and roof construction, thereby greatlyreducing the cost of concrete construction work.

Another object ofthis invention is to provide a concrete-arch,'fioor or roof construction composed of pre-cast=concrete slabs or beams, which will act as'a mold or form for an upper layer of job-poured concrete, and which with such jobpoured concrete will form a unit-mass concrete arch, floor or roof.

A further object of this invention is to provide a suitable pre-cast concrete slab'or beam which is ofsimple design, easy and cheap to manufacture, which possesses a high degree of strength and rigidity, and which with the job-poured concrete will form a substantially monolithic or unitmass concrete arch.

Otherobjects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following descrip- 45 tion when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure l is a fragmentary, perspectivelvie w ot an arch formed with the pre-c-ast concrete beams provided by my invention, sections of two inter- ..secting I-beams being broken away to reveal underlying structure.- t

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of a concrete'arch constructed according to my invention.

Fig. 3 is a sectional viewtaken onygthe line 3-4 in Fig. 1.

Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7and'9 aresectiqnai views shew"- ing various methodsof: renting alight arch, rooflor floor construction."

Fig. 8 is a sectional viw howingj th'mannerl in which electricalbo'xesor other fixtures may 5 inserted in'the' arch. I V p r Fig. 10 is afragmehta'ry perspective view of'a preferred enibodimentbf the pre cast concrete beam" provided by my invention; W

Fig; 11 is a sectional 'vi'wshowing the method 0 of'formin'g a'flafi ceiling'whenusihg 'a'modifled form of pre-cast ooncret'ebeahi.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the reference numeral H1 designates the" usual vertical columns of a modern 'building construction, and 5' II, II designate th usual horizontalfI-beams connected to the columns and fo'rmingwith them' one section of the steelframe-work of the struc-' ture. In"thedrawingsonly one such section is shown','although""itis we1l"unders'tood that a building is 'composedbfmariy such sections on each floor of the building being constructed.

In the erection of a "concrete arch'or floor according to my invention, 'a haunch and a soilit IZis" first'formedfaround the lowerflanges of a. 25 pair of spaced I-'beams'"l l, the haunches and soffits being formedbymeansof wooden forms or molds erected around the I-beams;land concrete poured intothemolds and allowed to set. When theconcrete hasset"sufiiciently'the forms are then removed? h The next step in the 'formation of the arch is 'tospan the gap-from cast" haunch tocast haunch with a plurality' of novefpre-cast con crete beams I 4 provided by my 'invention.' One l ofsuch beamsis shownsepa'rately in 10. The beams M are pre-castjpreferably being cast away 'fromthe joband'shipped .toit ready for incorporation in the "floors or arches of the building; They are L preferably made 1 or. triah'gu'-. larcross section, being 'cast' in a V-shape mold. They are also preferably of isosceles-trapezoidal form in longitudinal cross-section, the end faces" tapering outwardly, as seen Figs: 1,2 and l0, so that the upper edge l5 of the beam isishorter; than either of the low'e'rj. edges. l.6;..and .l1,.,and the faces form an acute. angle with the vertical members ofthe Ill-beams.

To reinforce theipriascast' beams and. -provide: the strength requisitexfor some.'structures,;and also, to. meet the requirements of ,the. existing. building codes, QI, provide. an linlverted metal .Tr. beam" l 8 embedded in: the, concrete beam... This- T-beam serves to take up tensile strains ;engen-,. dered in, handling," placing and. transporting, and f provides both lateral and longitudinal reinforcement for the beam. The T-beam I8 is located interiorly of the concrete beam l4 and extends longitudinally throughout its entire length and preferably has its flanges and web disposed substantially parallel to one face and in the median plane respectively of the triangular concrete beam. In practice I prefer to have the ends of the T-beam protrude beyond the end faces IQ of the concrete beam, the protruding ends serving a purpose which will presently appear.

It is possible to further reinforce the concrete beam by means of tie-rods 23 embedded in the beam (as seen in Figs. 3 and 10) although it will be understood that the tie-rods are provided merely to additionally reinforce the beam and may be dispensed with where the concrete beam with the metal T-beam possesses therequisite strength and rigidity.

When spanning the gap from cast haunch to cast haunch with the pre-cast beams l4, they are preferably placed parallel to each other and edge to edge, to form a complete closure of the opening formed by the intersection of the metal I- beams II and II. The concrete beams then act as a mold or form for the job-poured concrete which is poured over them, and in addition form a part of the completed arch or floor. The precast beams thus assume the double role of acting as a mold for the job-poured concrete, and also constituting an integral part of the finished arch or floor construction. Also, by means of the in verted T-beams l8 the pre-cast concrete beams provide the necessary metal reinforcement for the arch, although if desired, additional metal reinforcements may be inserted in the V-shaped grooves formed between the adjacent concrete beams. In the usual arch, however, it will be unnecessary to additionally reinforce the concrete, the metal contained in the pre-cast concrete beams providing adequate metal reinforcement.

When forming the haunches and soflits around the flanges of the I-beams, it is preferable to pour only one pair of haunches l2, and these preferably on the long-side I-bearns ll of each section of the metal frame of the structure. Thus.-

as seen in Fig. 1, no haunch has been formed; around the bottom flange of I-beams H. The haunches for this pair of beams are not poured "until the concrete for the entire floor is poured over the pre-cast concrete beamsl4, and at that time the entire I-beam is encased in a unit-mass of concrete. This unit-mass of concrete extends .throughout the entire floor area of the building, completely encasing I-beams l I, the upper flanges of I-beams II, and the exposed upper surfaces of the pre-cast concrete beams, to form the finished floor or arch. In this way an exceptionally good bond between the freshly poured concrete,

the pre-cast concrete beams, and the metal frame of the building is assured, which serves to make the floor theoretically monolithic. Also, I prefer to have the inverted T-beams I8 protrude beyond the end faces of the pre-cast concrete beams, and in this way secure an additional tie between the concrete of the beams l4 and the job-poured concrete 25 of the floor, making a substantially unitary mass. As best seen in Fig. 2, the end faces of the pre-cast beams I4 are outwardly tapered to allow the job-poured concreteto be tamped between the vertical member and upper flange of the I-beams H, and the end'faces IQ of the concrete beams.

As before mentioned, in practice it is preferable to form the haunches I2 on the long-side I-beams of each open section of the floor. In this way the span of the pre-cast beams will be kept to a minimum.

It is apparent that the concrete beams may rest on either the top or bottom flanges of the I-beams or girders, or in small buildings may span from wall to wall, or wall to beam and then to wall.

In Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 of the drawings I have shown various methods of forming a light arch, roof or floor construction with the pre-cast concrete beams provided by my invention. Fig. 4 shows an arch constructed with a hollow tile member 26 inserted in the V-shape groove formed by two adjacent pre-cast concrete beams I4. This serves to lighten the weight of the arch, yet avoiding the necessity of varying the size or shape of the pre-cast beams M. Fig. 5 shows a hollow metal form 21 used in the same manner as the hollow tile. Fig. 6 shows a metal slab 28 having inwardly-tapered edges corresponding in slope with the outwardly-tapered side faces of the.

beams l4.

It is possible in forming light arch constr-uctions to space the pre-cast concrete beamsapart and span the gaps between them with wider tile members, hollow metal forms, metal slabs, or other similar articles. Fig. 7 shows the two precast beams 14 spaced apart and a pieceof corrugated metal 30 spanning the small gap between them, the corrugated metal resting on each side in notches 3| formed in the side faces 32 of the 1 pre-cast beams. For the purpose of providing aw, continuous, smooth surface on the underside of 1 the arch, a wire lath 33 may be used, as shown, and a suitable coating of plaster then applied,

which will provide a smooth ceiling for the floor.

the board is held in position by means of wire rods 36 which pass under and then up through the board, the ends of the wire rods being hooked over the apices of the beams. The electrical boxes are then located in proper position, and the upper layer of concrete poured. When the concrete has set sufliciently the board 35 is then removed by cutting the wire rods 36.

In Fig. 11, I have shown a method of forming a flat ceiling by using a modified form of pre-cast concrete beam. These beams 3'! are formed with notches 39 at each end of their bottom faces. The beams then span the gap between the spaced I-beams and are allowed to rest firmly on the lower flanges 40 of the I-beams. The manner of completing this arch is similar to that described with reference to Fig. 8, except that the wire rods 43 are tied across the top of the I-beam 45. In this figure I also show tie rods 44 embedded in the pre-cast beam which extend upwardly from the beams 31 and are tied above the I-beam 45.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiments of the invention, I do not wish to be limited thereto, since various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. I

said concrete supports, said pre-cast concrete What I claim is': g

1. A building unit for concrete arch construction comprising a solid pre-cast concrete beam of substantially isosceles triangular lateral crosssection, having metal reinforcements embedded therein, said metal reinforcements comprising a metal T-beam extended longitudinally throughout the concrete beam, the flanges and the web of the T-beam being disposed substantially parallel to the base and in the plane of the altitude, respectively, of the concrete beam.

2. A building unit for concrete arch construction comprising a solid pre-cast concrete beam of substantially triangular lateral cross-section and isosceles-trapezoidal longitudinal cross-section, having a metal reinforcing T-beam embedded therein, said T-beam extending longitudinally throughout the concrete beam and having its flanges and web disposed substantially parallel to the base and in the plane of the altitude respectively of the concrete beam.

3. In a concrete building construction, the combination of a pair of flanged floor beams, spaced apart, concrete supports formed around the lower flanges of said beams, a second pair of flanged floor beams intersecting the first and forming with them an open floor area, a plurality of precast concrete beams spanning the gap between said concrete supports, and a layer of job-poured concrete encasing the exposed upper surfaces of said pre-cast beams and the exposed surfaces of the flanged floor beams, and bonding them together to form a substantially unitary mass.

4. In a concrete building construction, the combination of a pair of flanged floor beams, spaced apart, concrete supports formed around the lower flanges of said floor beams, a plurality of precast concrete beams spanning the gap between beams having embedded therein longitudinallyextended metal T-beams, the terminals of said T-beams protruding beyond the end faces of said concrete beams, and a layer of Job-poured concrete encasing the exposed upper surfaces of said pro-cast beams, the exposed surfaces of the flanged floor beams, and the protruding terminals of the metal T-beams and bonding them together to form a substantially unitary mass.

5. In a concrete building construction, the combination of a pair of flanged floor beams, spaced apart, concrete supports formed around the lower flanges of said beams, a second pair of flanged floor beams intersecting the first and forming with them an open floor area, a plurality of precast concrete beams spanning the gap between said concrete supports, said pre-cast concrete beams having embedded therein longitudinallyextended metal T-beams, the terminals of said T-beams protruding beyond the end faces of said concrete beams, and a layer of job-poured concrete encas'ing the exposed upper surfaces of said pre-cast beams, the exposed surfaces of the flanged floor beams, and the protruding terminals of the metal T-beams, and bonding them together to form a substantially unitary mass.

6. In a concrete building construction, the combination of a pair of supports, spaced apart, a plurality of pre-cast concrete beams spanning the gap between said supports and laterally spaced apart,'spacer means located between and bridging the gaps between said pre-cast beams, metal lathing bridging the gaps between the pre-cast beams at the bases thereof, and a layer of job-poured concrete encasing the exposed upper surfaces of said pre-cast beams and said spacer means and bonding them together.

ALBERT ARNN. 

